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These three New York Mets are safe but Mr. Met -- and there is no denying that is Mr. Met -- may need to enter a witness protection program after appearing in a video honoring a New York Yankee -- Derek Jeter. The Wieden+Kennedy creative directors who created the ad told The Oregonian why pixelation was essential in presenting the New York Mets.
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A Jordan Brand 90-second video honoring New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter, who is retiring at the end of this season, is causing a social media buzz Monday. The ad was created by the New York City office of Portland-based Wieden+Kennedy, the longtime agency of the Jordan Brand's parent, Nike. The ad will be broadcast during baseball's All-Star Game Tuesday night.

The W+K creative directors on the account, Gary Van Dzura and Jimm Lasser, responded to written questions from The Oregonian about the ad through an agency spokesperson:

If you can point to one thing, or a few things, where did the idea start for this video?

We started with the thinking that everyone respects Jeter as a player and as a gentleman. He was a winner on the field and he never sullied himself with steroids during a time when many players did. Then we noticed he has a tick when he steps into the batters box where he appears to sort of tip his helmet. We started thinking it would be a beautiful tribute if everyone tipped back. (Total ad contributors: About 30)

How long ago did the brain-storming begin?

We concepted this back in March. (Copywriter: Eric Helin; Editor: Biff Butler)

Once the idea was locked in, how long did it take to produce?

It was a four-day shoot last April. We had two months of post production, including editing, and an original music score. (Composer: Andrew Huckvale)

The Mets are pixelated — why?

It is a little bit of some New York humor: Like the Red Sox, the Mets are rivals of the Yankees. The pixelation is because those Mets players would get in deep trouble if they were seen honoring a Yankee. (Art director: Erwin Federizo)

The Red Sox are not pixelated — why?

I think it was just how we wanted to present them. We liked the Red Sox playing the Yankees, on the field. We used the characters of the Red Sox fans in the bar as a humorous vignette to reflect the grudging respect for Jeter also. (Executive creative directors: David Kolbusz, Susan Hoffman, Mark Fitzloff)